


pepero please interact

by chickenfetus



Series: the prequels, sequels and in betweens [2]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 03:51:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13673694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chickenfetus/pseuds/chickenfetus
Summary: minhyuk suggests a fun bonding activity and hyungwon prepares for the worst.although it doesn't turn out as bad as hyungwon thought it would.(or. the one where they unknowingly celebrate valentine's day.)





	pepero please interact

**Author's Note:**

> huge shoutout to [ayesha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadlylampshades/pseuds/minhyukwithagun) once again for helping me beta! thank you for always being so supportive i love u
> 
> i dont know how to explain this but this is set in the same universe as ["i thought you were really bright."](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13552125) and it's now part of a series, showing their life as trainees, and maybe after they debut too. 
> 
> as the series name suggests, this fic (and soon others) will either be a prequel, sequel, or the 'in between' of "i thought you were really bright." the first part of this fic is set a year before it so hopefully everything makes sense? if you have any questions regarding the timeline just ask lmao anyway, enjoy reading!

“hyungwon, i have a brilliant idea.” 

“the answer is no.”

hyungwon hears an offended gasp and rolls his eyes. he doesn’t really care, he has only been living with minhyuk for at most a month but he knows that whatever idea minhyuk has is _always_ bad and that going along with some of his more dangerous plans might either burn the apartment down or leave them dead.

there’s no room for negotiation, hyungwon hasn’t even bothered to look up from his phone. it’s the first time they’re getting a day off from practice so there’s no way he’s going to waste it. 

however, it seems like minhyuk - ever the lively one, has other plans. he drops to his knees, kneeling in front of hyungwon who’s on the sofa. the only thing he can think of is: _right in front of my morning coffee?_ minhyuk’s eyes are doing that _thing_ again where he makes them sparkle and hyungwon is always weak to those eyes, the eyes of a kicked puppy. curse his affection for small animals and curse minhyuk for resembling a puppy in more ways than one. 

“you haven’t even listened to my idea yet!” he shamelessly whines.

sighing, hyungwon puts his phone and cup of coffee down, wordlessly asking minhyuk to elaborate on his ‘brilliant idea’.

the idea is to make pepero together, he enthusiastically informs hyungwon after taking a seat next to him on the sofa. with exaggerated hand gestures, minhyuk describes how fun it’ll be, and how he’s already searched up the recipe. at the back of his mind, hyungwon wonders if minhyuk realizes it’s valentine’s day. 

unlike his previous doubts, making pepero together doesn’t sound all too bad, according to minhyuk it’ll be a great way to get to know each other better - which is a little late seeing as they live together but hyungwon will accept that reason. 

 

hyungwon groans upon entering the supermarket as he lays his eyes on all the red hearts and chocolates on display. he hates valentine's day. not because he didn’t have a date, on the contrary, he had too many admirers. in his first year of highschool, he got so many chocolates his locker couldn’t hold them all and he couldn’t carry all of them home. the year after that was the same. hyungwon never had anyone to share his gifts with, even if he was a big fan of chocolate eating it all alone wasn’t the nicest memory. in his third year, he refused to accept anyone’s valentine’s day present, no matter how small. it was worth it, albeit he was hated by half the guys in his year. at least he wouldn’t have to suffer from stomach aches every hour.

a tug on his arm and he’s brought back to his life as a trainee, a life where he’s standing in front of a shelf of chocolates with a _friend_ next to him. 

“those,” minhyuk points as he speaks without looking at hyungwon, “are the cheapest.” 

they’re buying those then, it’s decided. hyungwon grabs two bars before minhyuk reaches past him to get five more. 

“are you _crazy_?” there’s no way they’ll be able to use up all seven bars, and there’s no way he’s eating chocolate for three meals a day again. he never wants to suffer from a stomach ache because of chocolate ever again. 

minhyuk wags his finger, as if hyungwon doesn’t understand - he doesn’t, and places them in the basket despite hyungwon’s resistance. of course he wouldn’t listen. already giving up on persuading minhyuk, he follows him to the aisle where all the baking equipment are.

there’s a brief consideration. hyungwon could ask minhyuk whether he truly knows what he’s doing and he can stop it before it spirals into a mess. _or_ , he could play along, and maybe even enjoy himself. obviously, hyungwon chooses the latter, when was the last time he was even in the kitchen _making_ something? probably never. hence, he watches minhyuk dump all sorts of utensils into their basket, and his eyes lose their light as he thinks about his poor bank account. 

remembering that everything might not go as smoothly as minhyuk promised it would, hyungwon wanders into the confectionary aisle and grabs a box of pepero. in the worst (and most plausible) outcome, they’ll still have pepero. 

they end up purchasing everything in their basket, although hyungwon is very sure they don’t need the same spatula in three different colours. for the sake of a good time, he allows his money to be spent but instantly regrets his decision when he sees the total amount. 

“i’ll pay you back when i debut, hyungwon!” minhyuk says, with so much confidence he can’t help but feel like it’ll happen.

(debuting, not paying him back. that’d never happen.) 

in the event they don’t debut, they could open their own bakery since they do have the equipment for it. all they’d have to do was just learn how to bake, which can’t be harder than practicing everyday until their muscles ache. 

 

the walk back to their apartment consists of hyungwon chanting to himself that they won’t screw up, and that everything will go smoothly. minhyuk is in high spirits as he hums the whole way back, with a spring in his step. he doesn’t seem to be thinking much about anything at all, and hyungwon fears they’ll have to open that bakery. 

as soon as they’re back, minhyuk heads straight to the kitchen and sets their bags down on the counter. hyungwon takes out every bar of chocolate and stores them in the refrigerator.

he shouts, “let’s get started!” even though hyungwon is right beside him and there’s no one else in the apartment. 

“this isn’t some kind of baking video minhyuk, you don’t have to yell,” hyungwon answers, the reminder slipping out on reflex. 

hyungwon cringes as he sees the way minhyuk’s eyes literally light up and mentally prepares himself. he dashes to his own room, and hyungwon begins unpacking all the unnecessary equipment they bought. why on earth would they need a cupcake pan? they were making pepero.

loud footsteps echo throughout their apartment and it’s a blessing the residents living below them haven’t filed a noise complaint. minhyuk returns with a camera in hand, and hasilty places it on one of their dining chairs. it’s not high enough to film the kitchen hyungwon assumes, so minhyuk grabs his books - a poetry collection and a guide (“it’s for _dummies_!” minhyuk had chortled.) on how to DJ, from the shelf nearby and stacks them until the camera can. 

(“don’t touch those-!” 

“it’s for the _people_ hyungwon!” 

“ _who_?”) 

leaving the matter of his _important_ books aside, hyungwon rolls his own sleeves up and tells minhyuk to pull the recipe up, the instructions simple enough.

hyungwon starts giving orders, and doesn’t realize until he sees minhyuk give him a knowing smile. embarrassed, he turns and loudly declares he’ll preheat the oven, and goes through the recipe another time after that’s been done. 

the most they’ll have to actually bake are the sticks, chocolate isn’t hard to melt after all. maybe they’ll even finish earlier than expected, hyungwon feels himself getting more excited and watches as minhyuk cracks an egg one-handed. 

(he tries not to be impressed, and makes a memo in his head somewhere to practice doing that too.) 

it’s their first time using their kitchen to make food - _actual food_ , since they’ve moved in. their usual dinner plans consisting of ordering delivery or eating at the restaurant near the academy. thus, it’s understandably normal for hyungwon to feel uneasy about the whole thing. what if they really burn their home down? they’ve already spent a fortune on the items for the pepero, their combined savings amounting to two hundred won at best. he has the right to be worried. 

for the time being, hyungwon watches as he prepares the dough. minhyuk’s humming a song he vaguely recalls, and he watches as his face scrunches up in full concentration. very deep in the back of hyungwon’s mind, there’s a thought that’s along the lines of _liking_ minhyuk when he’s focused on something but he quickly trashes it. seeing a different side of him was just surprising, there’s nothing more to it. 

“hyungwon, pass me the pastry bag.” he asks, and hyungwon snaps out of his thoughts. he tries to pretend he was looking at the recipe and not blatantly staring at minhyuk as he passes the transparent bag to him. 

he only shifts his head to observe minhyuk once more when he hears stressed noises. 

“what’s wrong?” it’s genuine concern, just so hyungwon knows when to bolt out in case something bad happens.

“do these look normal…?” hyungwon takes a glance at what minhyuk is doing and decides immediately that no, they aren’t normal in the slightest. to be honest, they’re quite ugly. the batter is splattered all over the baking sheet, did minhyuk even have his eyes open when he piped them?

another glance at minhyuk, who’s way too concerned over some sticks, hyungwon sighs. 

“if it’s what they’re like in the recipe it’s probably fine. maybe thicken them slightly? here,” he says, moving behind minhyuk. without skipping a beat, hyungwon places his hands over minhyuk’s, grabs hold of the pastry bag and pipes the batter over the ones already present. 

when he steps back, he realizes. 

“shit - sorry,” hyungwon blurts out the apology all too quickly, minhyuk doesn’t seem to be breathing. a second, a minute, two minutes pass by and his shoulders finally relax, the tense atmosphere dissipates. 

he tries not to get too affected when he hears minhyuk sigh deeply before responding in a voice that sounds too forced to actually sound happy. 

“don’t worry about it! they do look more normal now, thanks!” 

minhyuk puts on the oven mittens, grabs the tray and places their lines of dough inside. they just have to wait for them to bake for fifteen minutes, to kill time, hyungwon gets a pot and fills it with water. he places it on the stove and waits for it to boil while minhyuk checks on their sticks every few minutes. the whole thing feels awfully domestic and hyungwon isn’t sure if he enjoys that fact. 

by the time the sticks are done baking, the chocolate has begun melting, they’ll be able to dip them soon. he watches, with much more subtlety this time as minhyuk transfers the sticks to the cooling rack, the smile on his face has thankfully returned. 

hyungwon hears the bowl tilt, and he turns his head so fast to ensure it hasn’t dropped into the boiling pot filled with water. it hasn’t, and the chocolate is done melting. a grin forms on his face and he asks minhyuk to hand him a stick so he can try dipping it in, only to be met with disappointed eyes. 

“it broke…” a whisper, so soft that hyungwon would’ve been surprised it came from minhyuk if he wasn’t right in front of him. 

he’s right, the sticks are all broken, cracked even. just crumbles of biscuit, and no longer in the shape of sticks. minhyuk is clearly discouraged, eyes way too upset and it hurts a little seeing his friend so sad. 

naturally, guilt enters his mind, had it been because he changed the batter? however, the problem won’t solve itself by staring at each other sadly so hyungwon turns off the fire, and starts searching up food they can make with melted chocolate. 

after what seemed like an endless staring contest with the broken sticks, minhyuk asks him what they’ll do now. hyungwon grins, having already pulled a recipe for cupcakes up and shows it to minhyuk.

the way he lights up, eyes bright and shining again almost causes hyungwon to drop his phone. minhyuk doesn’t seem to notice, already pushing the failed attempt aside and bringing out another bowl hyungwon never knew they had. 

“melt more chocolate, let’s see how many cupcakes we can make.” the sudden change in his demeanor brings great relief to hyungwon, minhyuk was always the pillar, holding their friendship together. 

for some odd reason, as if minhyuk had anticipated their failure, or maybe he was just blind - he had bought cupcake liners, now proving themselves useful. hyungwon returns to melting the chocolate, the soft hum coming from minhyuk becoming something he appreciates more than ever. it’s comforting to hear the humming, it’s a constant.

fortunately, the cupcakes don’t mess up and everything goes well. they even manage to bake extras for the other trainees, per minhyuk’s request. the rest get quickly eaten by both of them and hyungwon is shocked by how good they taste, minhyuk having the same reaction with the way his eyes widen. 

it’s half past seven, they spent the whole day baking. it takes an hour or two longer than necessary to clean up due to minhyuk deciding it was a good idea to throw flour at him, resulting in a battle. the flour-stained battlefield wasn’t the easiest to clean up either, both of them wouldn’t stop procrastinating. 

even though they successfully made something, minhyuk is still pouting, most likely thinking about the broken sticks they ended up eating. hyungwon goes to the refrigerator and pulls out the box of pepero he bought earlier, kudos to past him for knowing that a disaster was bound to happen. he really is a genius. 

“i bought this earlier, don’t sulk over broken pieces of biscuit.” he shows the red box to minhyuk, who charges at him at full speed. 

taking advantage of their very tiny height difference, hyungwon pulls the box of pepero above his head and laughs as minhyuk jumps, trying to snatch it. 

eventually, he gives in just as minhyuk is about to make his eyes do the _thing_ and he opens the packet like he’s starving. 

(they both are, all they had were cupcakes.) 

in the meantime, as he snacks on the chocolate sticks, hyungwon starts keying in the number for their usual delivery place. he’s about to hit call when minhyuk steps in front of him, a single pepero stick in between his teeth.

not to mention, he’s moving it up and down, _very_ suggestively. 

“do... do you need something?” hyungwon can’t help but ask, cautious. 

minhyuk takes a step closer, hyungwon takes a step back. 

he removes the pepero from his mouth, and says, no - _demands_ , “play the pepero game with me, hyungwon.” 

firstly, the pepero game is in _november_ , it’s valentine’s day, not pepero day for god’s sake. secondly, hyungwon is very certain his heart is ready to fall out of his mouth. 

that’s unfair. minhyuk’s eyes are sparkling, he’s grinning so brightly hyungwon is sure he lives with the sun. it’s terribly unfair how he’s incapable of saying no to those eyes, to _him_. 

“s-sure,” hyungwon stutters out, real smooth. 

minhyuk places the pepero back in between his teeth and hyungwon has stopped breathing. it’s basically set in stone that if he breathed something bad would happen, ruining the moment.

his hand finds its way to the back of minhyuk’s neck, it’s almost like a kiss.

a bite, and then another. time is moving, it is, but to hyungwon? it feels like everything has stopped and the only things still in motion are the sparkles in minhyuk’s eyes and his lips. 

the part, the selfish part of him wants to close the distance completely and break the chocolate biscuit that’s dangling between him and minhyuk. he never gets the chance to, because minhyuk bites halfway through the disappearing stick and steps back. 

as if nothing happened, he beams at hyungwon and happily thanks him. the remaining piece in between his teeth falls out and minhyuk laughs. 

“i’ll go - i’ll go call for delivery now.” 

minhyuk nods, still eating the stupid pepero and hyungwon’s eyes subconsciously find their way to his lips.

“hello, how may i help you?” he jumps at the voice before remembering he’s ordering dinner. 

the usual order gets recited, at least that hasn’t changed. a change would be how hyungwon has to turn away from minhyuk otherwise he wouldn’t be able to form a coherent sentence. 

the call ends, he turns to inform minhyuk that their food will come in half an hour and is startled to see him already there, pepero not in mouth this time - good, hyungwon wouldn’t be able to survive. 

“thanks,” a soft whisper cuts through the momentary silence. “thanks for everything today,” minhyuk finishes, tugs hyungwon down so fast he sees stars, and gives a soft kiss to his cheek.

hyungwon doesn’t get to process anything until he hears a door slam shut and then it sinks in. dropping to the floor, he brings his hand to his cheek, the spot where he was kissed _burns_ \- in the best way possible. 

in a daze, he walks out of the kitchen and almost knocks into the chair that the camera is sitting on. he’d forgotten about that. picking up the camera, he notes how it’s still recording and stops it. hyungwon places his books back on the bookshelf that has more of minhyuk’s stupid figurines than his actual books and pushes the chair back to its original position. 

taking a seat on the sofa, he revisits the footage and is surprised the camera lasted long enough to record everything. while waiting for their dinner to arrive, hyungwon supposes it won’t hurt to watch the day’s events, he could laugh at the exact moment they failed. 

his eyes are glued to the tiny screen, and he unintentionally feels his neck heat up when he sees the amount of times minhyuk gaze drifts towards him. he wants to throw the camera out of the window after seeing he’s done the exact same, the fondness he holds in his gaze is unreal, and for a second hyungwon can’t recognize himself. 

when the pepero game starts playing, hyungwon’s entire body is on fire, it looks like they’re _kissing_. the doorbell rings right when he sees minhyuk give him a kiss on the cheek and he yells at the sudden disruption. 

the delivery man and hyungwon exchange their respective items; he gets his money while hyungwon gets his dinner. he bows in appreciation before closing the door, expecting minhyuk to already be seated at the dining table. he’s not there. 

confused, hyungwon places the plastic bag containing their dinner on the table and knocks on his door and without waiting for a response, he enters. minhyuk is sprawled on his bed, eyes closed and breathing even. the light haven’t even been turned off, and it’s only nine. sighing, hyungwon drags the blanket so it properly covers minhyuk’s body and switches off the lights.

before shutting the door, he whispers, “sleep well, i had fun.” 

 

dinner is eaten alone, and the living room sounds so much quieter, much like when he was in gwangju. the camera is propped up in front of hyungwon and as he eats, he watches the same two scenes play over and over again. 

after cleaning up, he transfers the video to his phone and charges the camera. they never do talk about what happened after baking the cupcakes, only the process. it’s fine with hyungwon, he never liked confrontation anyway. 

the remaining cupcakes are placed in a container and minhyuk shares them with the other trainees, hyungwon sits in a corner and observes the way he brags about how the baking process was _so_ easy. 

hyungwon snorts, and their day is uneventful, but it’s the usual. well, it’s not _exactly_ the same as other days when he goes to bed, phone in hand and drifts off to sleep, the video of minhyuk kissing him on the cheek playing on repeat. every night after that, he dreams of the impossible and wakes up feeling bittersweet.

* * *

a year later (to be more accurate; a whole three hundred and sixty four days), minhyuk suggests baking cookies instead. it sounds achievable on the first try so hyungwon agrees. hyungwon prays this year won’t leave him with empty promises and crushing disappointment. 

this time they don’t fail and the cookies end up decent, maybe even better than expected. hyungwon’s hard work pays off when he impressively cracks two eggs one handed. minhyuk claps in amazement and he feeds off the attention. history _does_ repeat itself when minhyuk ‘accidentally’ throws flour in his direction and it results in a giant mess. hyungwon plays off the disappointment that tugs at his heart as nothing when that’s all that remained the same. 

sneakily, hyungwon places a few cookies in a sparkly gift bag and attaches a short note to it when minhyuk isn’t looking. although waking up earlier than normal will be tough, it’ll be worth it in the end, he convinces himself. that night, he dreams of the sun and happy endings. 

he does wake up early, a whole hour earlier. much to his dismay, the apartment is already empty and hyungwon feels like he’s lost. that isn’t going to stop him though, he set up an agenda for the day and he’s not backing out until he gets it done. 

 

before opening his locker, hyungwon punches in the code to minhyuk’s own and after ensuring nobody is around, places the bag of cookies inside and slams the locker shut. 

with his task accomplished, hyungwon opens his locker and is taken aback when he sees a similar bag of cookies sitting inside amidst his belongings. there’s a note attached and of course it’s from minhyuk and _of course_ they had the same idea. 

laughing in amusement, hyungwon reads the note, and tries not to scream at seven in the morning.

> _dear hyungwon,_
> 
> _it feels strange writing such a formal note, don’t laugh at me when you see me later okay? this isn’t much, but we made it together and it’s still something we made so it has some sort of meaningful value right? right. i’m always right._
> 
> _anyway, there isn’t going to be a confession, i just wanted to thank you for sticking around for one whole year and a bit. i didn’t think we’d be able to live together and even be friends for so long honestly. i’m glad that we are._
> 
> _thank you for teaching me a lot of things and for always cheering me up! have a good valentine’s day, or february fourteenth, love you._

the note is written in minhyuk’s pretty handwriting and hyungwon’s heart fills with warmth. although it looks like minhyuk had struggled writing it, the many strokes used to cancel out words a clear indication. (hyungwon tries his best to stop himself from wondering about the unwritten words.) the note he’d written pales in comparison, despite that, he knows minhyuk will appreciate it. he’s always been the friend who loved anything and everything people gave him. 

not for the first time, hyungwon admires how _bright_ minhyuk is and tucks the note carefully in his pocket. the cookies will make a delicious breakfast. he stops in his tracks when he sees minhyuk leaning against the lockers, holding a similar bag of cookies with the widest grin on his face. 

their eyes meet, and hyungwon adores the way minhyuk’s eye crinkles when he starts laughing. he laughs along, because they had _really_ thought of the same thing. 

there’s not enough time to prepare himself before he feels arms wrap around his neck and a kiss gets pressed to his cheek again, followed by a hug. 

“thank you,” minhyuk absolutely shines, the sun basking him in a lovely golden glow and in that moment he looks perfect. 

hyungwon huffs, says it’s nothing after he composes himself and pats minhyuk on the head. he’s in for a long ride, not like he’d have it any other way. his eyes may have softened while he watches minhyuk bounce energetically towards the practice room but no one is around to see.

* * *

nine months later, minhyuk has hyungwon trapped. 

he should’ve seen it coming, all those glances coming from minhyuk were definitely more than average. 

they have another day off, and they haven’t done much. hyungwon thought it’d be a good idea to pick up a book and read while minhyuk did whatever. so far, he’s seen minhyuk slouching on the chair, boredly eating pepero. 

(he stopped checking up on minhyuk after seeing the damn chocolate stick.)

truthfully, hyungwon stopped properly reading, the lines quickly becoming a blur. he was just waiting for minhyuk to do something. it was pepero day, and he had a box of pepero in hand, what was hyungwon supposed to think? 

so yeah, maybe he _did_ see it coming, and was slightly looking forward to it. no big deal. 

it took minhyuk an hour, but they’re here now. without warning, minhyuk sat on hyungwon’s lap, and his arms made their way between his head, he was quite literally, trapped. 

the determination on minhyuk’s face made hyungwon chuckle, and he received a light slap on his cheek. “don’t laugh!” he’d shouted, voice squeaky. 

hyungwon’s hands find their place on minhyuk’s waist and he waits patiently for minhyuk to speak up. what happened to the boy who had playfully asked to play the pepero game without fear? though, he quite preferred the shy minhyuk, whose face glowed with embarrassment. 

“let’s play the pepero game,” through the lens of his glasses, hyungwon can clearly see the blush that’s made itself apparent on minhyuk’s cheeks. _cute_. 

over the past few months, he gained confidence too and eagerly agrees.

minhyuk’s hands are shaking as he places the pepero between his teeth, and hyungwon really wants to interlock their fingers. his hand cups the back of minhyuk’s neck instead, finding their usual spot and he smirks as he thinks of an idea.

in one swift motion, hyungwon steals the pepero from his mouth and places a quick kiss on minhyuk’s lips. he hears a startled noise come from minhyuk and grins, he’s not the only one with brilliant ideas. 

“do it properly!” minhyuk whines, hitting hyungwon’s shoulder. 

a way too fond sigh leaves him and hyungwon puts the pepero in his own mouth this time and pushes minhyuk’s head closer.

a bite. and then another, until there’s nothing left but their lips on each other. the kiss tastes sweet, like a mix of minhyuk and chocolate, he never wants it to end. hyungwon opens his eyes and takes great joy in seeing minhyuk; eyes closed, smiling softly. pulling minhyuk closer until hyungwon can hear his heartbeat, he leaves gentle kisses all over his face, the quiet giggles spurring him on. 

hyungwon rests his head on minhyuk’s shoulder, and mumbles into his neck, “i love you.”

flustered by his own confession, hyungwon removes his head from minhyuk’s shoulder and feels his eyes widen because he’s so _bright_ and his smile is blinding. it’s like the sun is in front of him, illuminating the room and hyungwon’s own life. this is _home_.

minhyuk leans down to kiss hyungwon, who’s still amazed by his boyfriend who seems to shine forever, and presses their foreheads together.

“i love you too, hyungwon.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, comments are appreciated but of course, not necessary! i'll do my best to improve regardless!! 
> 
> somehow i managed to finish this within a week even though my two previous works took one month each rip 
> 
> i hope everyone has a good day/night!! :-D


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